To Boost Economy, Some Africans Woo White
Farmers

CHIMOIO, Mozambique -- David Lombard was driven out of Zimbabwe in 2002
by government-inspired hostility to whites. But the 40-year-old farmer
didn't abandon Africa altogether.

Along with several dozen other
whites demonized as colonial relics at home, Mr. Lombard moved across the
border to neighboring Mozambique. There the government is recruiting white
farmers to help build up its economy.

"When I got here, this was all
bush," says the stocky, sun-creased farmer. Standing in khaki shorts beside
an open-air house that lacks electricity and running water, Mr. Lombard
points with pride at the surrounding paprika fields and sheds full of
farming machinery.

Across Southern Africa, ownership of prime land by
white farmers has become a lightning rod for discontent among impoverished
black majorities. Descendants of colonial-era white settlers have long
controlled the region's large, modern farms.

Mr. Lombard's
cross-border migration was spurred by the opposite approaches taken by
Zimbabwe and Mozambique to this explosive brew of race, class, agriculture
and politics.

In Mr. Lombard's former homeland, President Robert Mugabe
fanned a racial firestorm that pushed white farmers off their land. Over the
past several years, an estimated 90% of Zimbabwe's roughly 70,000 whites
fled the country. Most landed on relatively comfortable shores of Australia,
New Zealand and Britain.

Neighboring Mozambique, which once treated
its own white population much more harshly than Zimbabwe ever did, wooed the
farmers with offers of cheap land, plentiful labor and tax breaks. White
farmers, the government reasoned, would supply the nation with food, jobs
and capital. Mr. Lombard was willing to risk hardship and disease to stick
with what he knows best: farming African soil.

"A problem for
Zimbabwe has become a solution for Mozambique," says Filimone Meigos, a
prominent sociologist at the Mozambique Institute of Technology and Science
in Maputo, the nation's capital.

Other African nations that lack white
farming populations, such as Nigeria, Zambia, Uganda and Senegal, also
extended similar invitations, treating families like the Lombards as a
valuable development resource.

"Africa is in my blood," Mr. Lombard said
recently, even as his 5-year-old daughter, suffering from malaria, lay
curled up with fever. In the 1600s, religious persecution in France drove
Mr. Lombard's Protestant ancestors to Cape Town. In 1896, they were among
the first white settlers in what is today Zimbabwe. "We will always stay in
Africa," he insisted, "because I believe we can make a difference
here."

Making a Difference

Mozambique government officials say Mr.
Lombard and the other white farmers from Zimbabwe and South Africa have
already made a difference. According to government statistics, their 35 new
farms in the Manica province have created more than 10,000 jobs on about
54,000 acres of previously unused land. The farms have introduced modern
export-geared agriculture to the nation, churning out products such as
flowers, tobacco and yogurt. "We never had fresh milk here before them,"
says Cremildo Rungo, a Manica agriculture official who has worked with white
farmers since the influx began in 2002. "Our people used to go to Zimbabwe
to buy food. Now, it's the Zimbabweans who come to buy food
here."

In the 1960s and early 1970s, when Mozambique was a Portuguese
colony, more than 100 white-owned farms dotted the province. Some 150,000
Portuguese-speaking whites lived in Mozambique, including U.S. Sen. John
Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

In 1974, a military coup ushered
democracy into Portugal, and the new government handed over power in
Mozambique to a Soviet and Chinese-backed nationalist guerrilla movement,
Frelimo. The new regime nationalized all land and dispatched dissidents to
re-education camps. Manica's white farmers were often given 24 hours -- and
a single suitcase -- to evacuate homesteads where some had lived for
generations. Soon, almost all of Mozambique's whites were gone, leaving the
country without most of its doctors, teachers and entrepreneurs.

The
Marxist experiment went disastrously wrong, and Mozambique's economy
collapsed. In 1976, anti-Communist guerrillas launched an insurgency,
unleashing a civil war. By the time a peace deal was struck in 1992, almost
one million had died. Two years later, the Frelimo party ditched its
Communist ideology, embraced free markets, and won the country's first free
elections.

Across the border in Zimbabwe, where Mr. Lombard was then
living, the climate for whites remained relatively stable during this time,
despite political change. In 1980, white domination gave way to black
majority rule, and the nation's name changed from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. Mr.
Mugabe, Zimbabwe's newly installed president, was advised by Mozambique
President Samora Machel not to repeat the excesses of Mozambique's
revolution. "You have inherited a jewel," Mr. Machel said. "Keep it this
way."

The Zimbabwean leader seemed to have listened, at first. For nearly
two decades, Mr. Mugabe presided over racial reconciliation. Most whites
chose to stay put. The predominantly white commercial farming sector
flourished, turning Zimbabwe into a regional breadbasket and the envy of its
neighbors.

In the late 1990s, however, seeking to shore up his sagging
popularity, Mr. Mugabe uncorked old racial demons. In speeches, he described
Zimbabwe's white citizens as "conceited" saboteurs with "an evil agenda." By
then, many white farmers, including Mr. Lombard, were living on property
purchased with the consent of Mr. Mugabe's government. That didn't stop
authorities from orchestrating waves of land expropriations.
Government-sponsored thugs invaded farms, sometimes killing uncooperative
owners.

By mid-2002, squatters were massing on Mr. Lombard's farm.
"People were digging for gold, making holes and trenches all over, and
asking to plant near my driveway," he recalls. Persistent threats from the
invaders -- and a lack of police response to his complaints -- led him to
the conclusion that staying put, especially with two small children in the
house, was not an option. "The writing was on the wall," he says.

As
landowners left, peasants settled on the confiscated land. But most lacked
the capital, machinery and knowledge to run the farms. Eventually, food ran
short, and millions of black Zimbabweans emigrated alongside their white
compatriots.

Sensing a business opportunity, Felicio Zacarias, then
governor of Mozambique's Manica province, began making entreaties to white
Zimbabwean farmers in 1998. In the early 1990s, Mr. Zacarias, an agronomist
by training, had worked closely with white Zimbabweans while employed by a
South African citrus company. Like many agriculture professionals, he grew
to respect the expertise white farmers had developed over generations of
running commercial farms.

"I knew that the white Zimbabwean farmers
were not happy, and that they were looking for a place to continue farming,"
recalls Mr. Zacarias, now Mozambique's minister of public works and
construction. "I also knew that they are the best farmers in Africa, and
that the white South African farmers are next after them." In a pitch in
1998 to the white Zimbabweans in the provincial capital Chimoio, Mr.
Zacarias explained Mozambique's investment and land laws, and fielded
anxious questions from farmers' wives about hospitals and
schools.

Because of its Marxist past, Mozambique still outlaws private
land ownership. The Frelimo-led government offered foreign farmers renewable
50-year leases on plots of 2,470 acres or more. Annual rents were set at
just $1 per hectare, the equivalent of 2.47 acres. Farmers investing in
approved areas would receive tax breaks and 50% rent reductions.

In
Mozambique, a country twice the size of California, there is enough room for
all. Just 20% of its 89 million acres of suitable terrain are currently
cultivated. "Mozambique has plenty of land," boasts Agriculture Minister
Tomas Mandlate. "And it is open to foreign investors."

In August
2002, Mr. Lombard decided to abandon his farm in Zimbabwe to the squatters
and attempt a fresh start across the border. In Mozambique, the newcomers
initially asked the government for a large piece of land they could
cultivate together by pooling resources. The government refused, fearing it
could lead to a wholly segregated community. Mozambique wanted the new
arrivals to spread their agricultural expertise throughout the
province.

Mr. Lombard eventually selected an overgrown stretch of
bush that decades earlier had been the site of a Portuguese farm. One
condition for obtaining the lease was acceptance by the local
community.

Meeting the Tribal Chief

When he met with the area's
tribal chief, Riquirai Tique Macamba, Mr. Lombard presented him with pieces
of cloth, cigarettes, soft drinks and crates of beer for a traditional
ceremony. Mr. Macamba, a skinny man who is missing front teeth and wears
knee-high rubber boots several sizes too big, would not approve the deal
without first consulting the ghosts of his ancestors.

After the
ceremony, he issued a verdict: Mr. Lombard could settle on the land. Mr.
Lombard began building a new home on an old foundation, which was all that
remained of his Portuguese predecessor's home. He planted fields of paprika
and tobacco.

"He is welcome. The whites are the ones who have the money,"
Mr. Macamba said recently, as he sat on a straw mat in a village of conical
mud huts.

Mr. Lombard employs as many as 550 people, paying them the
government-regulated minimum wage of about $1 a day. Although he had not yet
built proper housing for himself, Mr. Lombard pooled money with other
Zimbabwean newcomers to build a brick school for the villagers.

They
also helped the local police station construct a new jail -- one he hopes
never to see from the inside, he says with a chuckle. Like many white
farmers, Mr. Lombard sometimes wonders whether he'll still be welcome here
once the starvation and destruction of Mozambique's recent past fade from
popular memory.

A Family Waits

While Mr. Lombard was getting
started, his wife Martie, their two daughters and her parents waited across
the border in the Zimbabwean city of Mutare. After Mr. Lombard moved from a
tent to a more permanent house last year, the rest of his family finally
crossed into Mozambique.

Relations with the villagers at times have been
rocky. Nobody had worked in a modern business in decades. Villagers had a
hard time grasping that they were expected to show up for work on time, and
that they could not just take off several days and reappear without penalty.
Some used the word "slavery" to describe those requirements, and bristled at
having to show Mr. Lombard a justification letter whenever they were absent
due to sickness or attending funerals. Employees especially resented that
white farmers used experienced black foremen from Zimbabwe, rather than
promoting local Mozambicans.

These grievances were aired last month when
the chief of Manica's labor unions, Armando Tangai, met with Mr. Lombard's
workers on the farm. The heated session was broadcast on local radio, and
caused a stir among Zimbabwean farmers, who grew alarmed that their welcome
here may be wearing thin.

A few days later, Mr. Tangai assuaged the
farmers' concerns. "These farmers don't know Mozambican laws very well, and
our mission is to advise them, not to punish them," the union activist
explained recently. "Skin color is not an issue for us. We certainly don't
want them to close down and leave."

Mr. Macamba, the local tribal chief,
says he is pleased with the changes brought by the newcomers. "Before, we
were suffering," he says. "Now we can buy salt, food, clothes and
everything. The crime is down, too. Our people come back from work so tired
that they don't have the time to go steal and rob."

Dictator
Chic

Wall Street Journal

REVIEW & OUTLOOK

October 19, 2005

We'd never accuse the United Nations
of lacking a taste for the absurd. But Ionesco or Beckett would have been
hard pressed to come up with a better script for the U.N.'s Food and
Agriculture Organization's 60th birthday party in Rome.

Its
World Food Day celebrates "sincere intercultural dialogue [that] is a
precondition for progress against hunger and environmental degradation." The
star attraction -- we're not making this up -- was Zimbabwe's Robert
Mugabe.

This African president certainly knows a lot about hunger,
if not personally. His seizures of white-owned farms have devastated
Africa's former breadbasket in a mere five years. A quarter of his country's
12 million people need food aid. Unemployment is 70%.

In the
past six months, 700,000 mostly black Zimbabweans were driven out of their
homes and denied their right to make a living by trading in the streets of
Harare and other cities. Their crime? These lower-class urban dwellers take
a dim view of the Mugabe regime and sympathize with the harassed political
opposition.

For his troubles, Mr. Mugabe finds himself unwelcome in
most polite company. The EU and the U.S. forbid him from coming to visit.
But the U.N. lets him get around the travel bans by rolling out the red
carpet at its shindigs. The wily octogenarian doesn't waste his precious
opportunities to grandstand on the world stage. In a lengthy speech before
the FAO Monday, Mr. Mugabe compared George Bush and Tony Blair to Hitler and
Mussolini. Perhaps the cheering delegates were simply grateful that Zimbabwe
now provides the FAO with a fresh raison d'etre.

At this point,
we shouldn't be surprised to see a man who brought famine to his land
embraced at the U.N.'s food agency. Two years ago, Libya took over the
chairmanship of the U.N.'s Human Rights Commission. Among the world's
altermondialistes, who value fulsome anti-Americanism and brutal domestic
repression above all else, dictators are chic. In this company, Mr. Mugabe
claims pride of place.

Press Defender Mtetwa Says Harare Curtails Information Flow

VOA

By Studio
7 Washington 18 November 2005

Beatrice Mtetwa,
a prominent defender of journalists and media rights in Zimbabwe for more
than a decade, said in an appearance on VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the
country's present legal framework "virtually curtails the free flow of
information" and that it is "impossible for a journalist to practice without
the government's say-so."

Ms. Mtetwa is one of five recipients of the
2005 International Press Freedom Award given by the Committee to Protect
Journalists - and the only recipient this year who is not a journalist. The
New York-based CPJ made the exception in recognition of her extraordinary
legal efforts on behalf of Zimbabwean journalists as the government of
President Robert Mugabe has moved to circumscribe press freedom.

Her
clients have included the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, publisher of
the Daily News, barred from publishing in 2003 for its aggressive coverage
of the Mugabe administration, and Andrew Meldrum, an American journalist who
was expelled from Zimbabwe in May 2003 after 23 years as a correspondent for
British papers.

Ms. Mtetwa has also represented innumerable lesser-known
journalists caught up in the Harare government's repressive apparatus,
recently winning an acquittal for a Daily News reporter in a critical test
case over alleged unlicensed reporting.

JAG Legal Communique dated 18 November 2005

Today's
Herald Friday 18 November 2005 contains two new listings with nolot numbers
in evidence.

The first is a listing of 35 farms under the Constitution of
Zimbabwesection 16B(2)(a)(iii) as amended recently. This is the first
Notice ofAcquisition under the Constitution and this list first appeared in
theHerald last Friday 11 November 2005 and is repeated today. Section 16B
ofthe amended Constitution is included below for those farmers listed
whowish to refer to it. No lot number appears. Clarification and advice
withregard to this new method of acquisition is available through the
JAGoffice.

The second listing pertains to two small properties
(Salisbury) listedunder the Land Acquisition Act (Chapter 20:10) under
Section 5 PreliminaryNotice to Acquire land. No lot number
appears.

Amendment to this section of the Constitution:

2 New
section inserted in Constitution

The Constitution is amended by the
insertion after section 16A("Agricultural land acquired for resettlement")
of the following section^×"16B Agricultural land acquired for resettlement
and other purposes

(1) In this section^×"acquiring authority" means
the Minister responsible for lands or any otherMinister whom the President
may appoint as an acquiring authority for thepurposes of this
section;"appointed day" means the date of commencement of the Constitution
ofZimbabwe Amendment (No. 17) Act, 2005. [14 September 2005. Ed.](2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter^×(a) all agricultural
land^×(i) that was identified on or before the 8th July, 2005, in the
Gazette orGazette Extraordinary under section 5(1) of the Land Acquisition
Act[Chapter 20:10], and which is itemised in Schedule 7, being
agriculturalland required for resettlement purposes; or(ii) that is
identified after the 8th July, 2005, but before the appointedday, in the
Gazette or Gazette Extraordinary under section 5(1) of the LandAcquisition
Act [Chapter 20:10], being agricultural land required forresettlement
purposes; or(iii) that is identified in terms of this section by the
acquiringauthority after the appointed day in the Gazette or Gazette
Extraordinaryfor whatever purpose, including, but not limited to^×A.
settlement for agricultural or other purposes; orB. the purposes of land
reorganisation, forestry, environmentalconservation or the utilisation of
wild life or other natural resources; orC. the relocation of persons
dispossessed in consequence of the utilisationof land for a purpose referred
to in subparagraph A or B;is acquired by and vested in the State with full
title therein with effectfrom the appointed day or, in the case of land
referred to in subparagraph(iii), with effect from the date it is identified
in the manner specifiedin that paragraph; and(b) no compensation shall
be payable for land referred to in paragraph (a)except for any improvements
effected on such land before it was acquired.(3) The provisions of any law
referred to in section 16(1) regulating thecompulsory acquisition of land
that is in force on the appointed day, andthe provisions of section 18(1)
and (9), shall not apply in relation toland referred to in subsection (2)(a)
except for the purpose of determiningany question related to the payment of
compensation referred to insubsection (2)(b), that is to say, a person
having any right or interest inthe land^×(a) shall not apply to a court
to challenge the acquisition of the land bythe State, and no court shall
entertain any such challenge;(b) may, in accordance with the provisions of
any law referred to insection 16(1) regulating the compulsory acquisition of
land that is inforce on the appointed day, challenge the amount of
compensation payablefor any improvements effected on the land before it was
acquired.(4) As soon as practicable after the appointed day, or after the
date whenthe land is identified in the manner specified in subsection
(2)(a)(iii),as the case may be, the person responsible under any law
providing for theregistration of title over land shall, without further
notice, effect thenecessary endorsements upon any title deed and entries in
any register keptin terms of that law for the purpose of formally cancelling
the title deedand registering in the State title over the land.(5) Any
inconsistency between anything contained in^×(a) a notice itemised in
Schedule 7; or(b) a notice relating to land referred to in subsection
(2)(a)(ii) or(iii);and the title deed to which it refers or is intended
to refer, and anyerror whatsoever contained in such notice, shall not affect
the operationof subsection (2)(a) or invalidate the vesting of title in the
State interms of that provision.(6) An Act of Parliament may make it a
criminal offence for any person,without lawful authority, to possess or
occupy land referred to in thissection or other State land.(7) This
section applies without prejudice to the obligation of the formercolonial
power to pay compensation for land referred to in this sectionthat was
acquired for resettlement
purposes."

Notice of Acquisition of Agricultural Land under section
16B(2)(a)(iii) ofthe Constitution.

Notice is given, in terms of
section 16(B)(s)(a)(iii) of the Constitutionof Zimbabwe, that the Minister
responsible for Lands hereby acquires forand on behalf of the State, the
Land identified and described in theSchedule for the environmental
conservation, the utilisation of wildlife orother natural resources and
relocation of persons dispossessed inconsequence of utilisation of land for
either of the foregoing purposes.

Further take notice that the ownership
of acquired land with full titletherein is vested in the State is with
effect from the date of publicationof this notice in the Gazette.

D N
E MutasaMinister of State for National Security, Lands, Land Reform
andResettlement in the President's Office.

Notice is
hereby given, in terms of subsection (1) of section 5 of the LandAcquisition
Act (Chapter 20:10), that the President intends to acquirecompulsorily the
land described in the Schedule for Specialist EducationalServices.

A
plan of the land is available for inspection at the following offices ofthe
Ministry of State for National Security, Lands, Land Reform andResettlement
in the President's Office between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. fromMonday to Friday
other than on a public holiday on or before 19 December2005.

Any owner or occupier or any other person who has
an interest and right inthe said land, and who wishes to object to the
proposed compulsoryacquisition, may lodge the same, in writing, with the
Minister of State forNational Security, Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement
in the President'sOffice, Private Bag 7779, Causeway, Harare, on or before
19 December 2005.

D N E MutasaMinister of State for National
Security, Lands, Land Reform andResettlement in the President's
Office.

1 224/85 Bavama Development P/L Salisbury S/D B of S/D A of
Greengrove8,0933 ha2 224/85 Bavama Development P/L Salisbury Tonycroft
of S/D A of Greengrove8,0835 ha

I ask, in the name of an interesting sideline on
History, and recentletters, what would have happened to us all if Mr Blair
had treated MrMugabe with a bit more respect in Edinburgh 1997. There was a
fuss madeabout what had happened to aid, but this had been going on for 17
years,why would anyone get upset about it after so
long?

As per our telecom today, herewith some details re
the National Instituteof Allied Arts Event. I hope JAG will be agreeable to
"popping a few linesonto your mailing list announcing this event.

The
dance festival meeting is on Saturday 19 November 2005 at 10:30, 4Malvern
Road, Mt. Pleasant, very close to the intersection Golden StairsRoad/The
Chase, (Ashbrittle) on the Mt. Pleasant side. We hope you can makeit &
get to meet you.

Thank you & kind regards

Paddy
BakerOffice
Manager

---------------------------------------------------------------------------All
letters published on the Open Letter Forum are the views and opinionsof the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justicefor
Agriculture

In May 2005 the Masvingo
Equipment and Material Committee led by AssistantCommissioner Loveness
Ndanga visited farms and homes to write up equipment.They unfortunately
ignored procedures and also used signed, blank forms,which they completed
before issuing to the farmers, which was outdatedbecause it bore the
signature of the previous minister, J L Nkomo.

The attitude of the
committee was aggressive and uncompromising. Theymerely wrote down what they
saw, regardless of whether it was being usedfor agricultural purposes; or
belonging to a third party; or being held intrust; or being repaired for a
third party.

A letter was sent to the Masvingo Provincial Administrator
Chikovo, in May,as the senior civil servant responsible for the
administration of landreform, but this has never been answered. A copy of
the Acquisition ofEquipment and Material Act was attached.

Several
meetings were held with the Governor W Chiwewe and individualmembers of the
Masvingo Equipment and Materials Committee, firstly toappeal for the correct
procedure to be followed with regard to the lawfulacquisition process;
objections; confirmation through the AdministrativeCourt; valuation and
compensation.

Secondly it was suggested that the equipment should rather
be boughtthrough Amtec, which would be financed by the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe,under a scheme where new farmers would be offered a facility for
easypayment over several years. The interest charge would be very low and
theother advantage was that Amtec would throw in a service agreement to
ensurethat the second hand equipment would remain in good working order.
Thewilling sellers would receive a fair cash price as
well.

Unfortunately, in response to this the common answer was that the
equipmentwould be too expensive by using that method and they preferred just
to takeit. Even the Governor was of the mistaken impression that the
equipmentbelonged to the Government immediately a farm was
acquired.

The most startling facts were revealed during further lobbying
withcommittee members, whilst discussing the process as defined in the Act
aswell as the legality and constitutionality of the exercise. It was
admittedthat the law was not being followed, "Because we are at war and
during warthe law does not apply."

Several attempts were made by
farmers for the release of their equipmentfrom the impoundment on their
properties. They wanted to use some of it foragricultural purposes whilst
others wanted to sell it to new farmers. Inall cases this was emphatically
denied.

This led the beleaguered farmers with little other option but to
apply fora spoliation order through the courts, but unfortunately they could
notraise the then quoted $30 - $40 million for the legal costs. With
theimpoundment of their equipment they no longer had an income from
theirvarious ploughing and harvesting contracts with new farmers.

It
is firmly believed that the committee were following high-level ordersand
were just 'testing the waters' with 'soft targets', which they took
thegamble that they could not adequately defend themselves.

In
November, when the Ndanga-led committee started removing equipment
inMasvingo a letter was immediately submitted to the Officer
CommandingMasvingo Province Emanuel Shiku, which requested an internal
investigation,and if necessary, a prosecution, of the suspicious actions of
thecommittee. Attached were copies of the Act and the unanswered letter to
theProvincial Administrator. There has been no response to or
acknowledgementof this letter, which was hand delivered and faxed. Copies
were also sentto the Ombudsman in Harare, which were followed up with a
formal writtencomplaint.

The Ndanga-led team moved to the Mwenezi
district where they seized morefarm equipment from 3 ranching properties,
completely disregarding thewarning and appeal.

It was pointed out
once again that the committee was acting outside the lawtherefore it is the
opinion that the committee, knowing full well thattheir action was illegal,
was vicariously liable for their actions.

Furthermore, the letters act as
evidence in aggravation as they informedthe group of their
wrongdoings.

When a reporter friend spoke to Minister J Made about the
confiscation ofthe equipment he said that it was illegal but that it was not
hisdepartment, or ministry. He therefore offered to discuss the matter
withMinister D Mutasa, "Who I will be seeing in the next 10 minutes as I am
onmy way there."

A fairly high-level 'political' delegation from
Masvingo was able to seekaudience with Minister D Mutasa, on 2 occasions. He
is reported as beinghorrified at the seizure of the equipment saying it was
illegal and notGovernment policy and immediately spoke to Governor W Chiwewe
to castigatethe actions of the committee. This was late evening. He
suggested that ifthe equipment had not been returned that the group should
return to eitherhim or Minister F Bhuka.

After nothing positive had
happened the next day the group again met withthe minister and he promised
to take the matter further. No equipment wasreturned and no further action
was taken by the minister.

The following day the same reporter telephoned
Minister D Mutasa. Theminister expressed horror at what was reported to be
happening in Masvingoand commented, "I know nothing about this. Why do those
people who areaffected not come and see me and it is embarrassing that I
have to hearthis from you."

Another group was referred to Assistant
Commissioner Masoja, by DeputyCommissioner Matanga to discuss the matter of
the Masvingo equipmentseizure. He is reported to have expressed deep concern
and asked manypertinent questions appertaining to the application of the
Act. As a resultof his questioning he could clearly see that the law was not
being followedand then promised to speak to Mrs Ndanga.

The day after
this meeting the Ndanga-led committee started seizingequipment in Chiredzi,
using the same unlawful action which they had usedMasvingo and
Mwenezi.

When approached by a Chiredzi lawyer at Whitro engineering, Mrs
Ndanga isreported to have immediately surrounded herself with armed
militia,refusing to discuss the matter in private.

What we are seeing
here is the 'good cop - bad cop' scenario, wherepoliticians and policemen
merely talk sympathetically to appease thecomplainant. This leads to the
very strong suspicion that the exercise hasbeen sanctioned at high-level,
with a very real possibility that orderscame directly from Minister D Mutasa
himself.

There have already been very clear statements made by Minister D
Mutasa, asreported in the media, indicating that he is unsympathetic
towardsEuro-African participation in the land reform
programme.

Furthermore, is this an indication that Operation Taguta has
commenced andthat the National Army who are intended to take the place of
commercialfarmers to feed the nation will use the equipment?

Or is
the equipment to be distributed as 'Christmas bonuses' to partisangroups and
civil servants, which the fiscus can no longer afford?

General

It
has been suggested that recent jambanja and looting of farms in Chipingewas
merely a method of accessing ASPEF from the Reserve Bank. Thebeneficiaries
could then show that they were eligible to the loans as theywere now
(coffee) exporters.

At Mkwasine Estate many of the A2 beneficiaries are
mysteriously beingassaulted at night by unknown attackers. One theory is
that it is byworkers on the estate who are in fear of losing their permanent
jobsbecause the estate is being taken over by the A2s.

Some of the
actions and attitude of the A2s is blatant and unremorseful.One walked into
the Accountant's office at Mkwasine and physicallyassaulted him demanding
the keys to the company house in which theaccountant was living.

In
another incident an Mkwasine A2 was so badly beaten up that he had tospend a
few days in hospital. When he was released from hospital he took ataxi to
drop him at his farm. When he got out of the vehicle he was askedfor the
payment. He replied, "No I do not have to pay. Don't you know who Iam?" He
was thereupon set upon and assaulted by the taxi operator and he isnow back
in hospital, but this time in intensive care, as his situation
iscritical.

The (previous) owner of Bangala Ranch, Chiredzi, has had
a final demandserved on him for non-payment of $1.3 Billion loan taken out
by thebeneficiaries of the farm. The owner vacated the property in
2000!

The Governor of Masvingo apparently told a political rally that
nobodyshould plant crops on the 'Buffalo Range Conservancy'
[ChiredziConservancy?]

JAG PR Communique dated 18 November 2005

THE government media continued to dishonestly handle
the crisis bedevillingthe agricultural sector in the 74 stories they carried
on the matter. Ofthese, 17 were published in the government papers and 57 on
ZBH (ZTV 27,Power FM 16, Radio Zimbabwe 14).

The stories, which
ranged from exposing poor land preparations anddifficulties riddling wheat
harvesting, to throwaway calls on farmers bythe authorities to fully utilise
farmland, only mirrored indicators of theconfusion plaguing preparations for
the 2005/6 season.

But they failed to holistically address the issue of
how these problemswould affect the country's agro-based economy or question
whethergovernment had drawn up adequate plans to rectify
them.

Despite citing mostly farmers' complaints, these media continued
portrayinggovernment as taking corrective measures while blaming other
agriculturalplayers for the chaos.

For instance, while The Herald
(10/11) announced that government had"launched a soyabean promotion
programme" that would provide farmers with"inputs" and necessary skills "to
ensure optimum production", the Chronicle(11/11) blamed delays in the
disbursement of funds to farmers to "rigidtechnocrats" who were "throwing
spanners" in government's efforts to"empower the majority" and "capitalists"
who "employ dirty tactics at theirdisposal to maintain their grip on the
economy."

More blame-games appeared on all ZBH stations (7/11, 6pm and
8pm), whichreported the Zimbabwe Farmers' Union complaining about the acute
fuelshortage and the criteria the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim)
wasusing to allocate the commodity.

However, instead of questioning
Noczim, the stations (10/11, 8pm) merelycited its boss, Zvinechimwe Churu,
simply promising farmers that theparastatal had set up "mechanisms" to
ensure that half the diesel"trickling" into the country would be available
to them.

The "mechanisms" remained unexplained. ZBH also failed to dig
out thecrucial figure that constituted the 50 percent earmarked for the
farmers.Instead, ZTV aired a confusing report in the same bulletin that
Noczim haddistributed 23 million litres of diesel to farmers out of the 120
millionlitres it sourced between April and October this
year.

However, some farmers ZTV cited said they had not benefited from
thesedeliveries, including one whom it coincidentally interviewed while
rainpounded his 30-hectare crop of mature wheat. Despite this claim,
thebulletin continued to quote "agricultural experts" accusing farmers
ofselling their fuel allocations on the black market. In comparison, the
25stories the private media carried on agriculture were instructive with
15of them fully exposing the extent of the mayhem in the farming
sector,including a warning that the coming farming season would be
disastrous.

Twenty-four of the stories appeared in private papers, while
SW RadioAfrica carried a single report. Studio 7 ignored the topic
altogether.

These media also highlighted policy contradictions and the
chaossurrounding government's controversial land reforms. For example, The
DailyMirror (12/11) quoted the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) revealing
that 17white commercial farmers had their farms seized last month in a new
spateof violent farm take-overs, despite condemnation of this practice
byReserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and Vice-President Joseph
Msika.

Lands Minister Didymus Mutasa confirmed the report, but said he
was "notsure" of the number of farms seized.

Earlier, SW Radio Africa
(10/11) citing ZimOnline, reported that theremaining 18 white farmers in
Karoi had been ordered to leave except forBilly Rautenbach, reportedly a
close friend to President Mugabe.

The following day, the Independent
revealed that government had "stepped upefforts to push the few remaining
white commercial farmers off the land byempowering a reconstituted equipment
committee to seize farming implements". Reportedly, the committee, led by
police Assistant Commissioner LovenessNdanga, put 10 farms in Mwenezi "under
guard by armed personnel toforestall the farmers removing their equipment
from the farms".

The Standard (13/11) carried a similar
report.

The Independent also reported that a CIO officer had seized a
white-ownedfarm and its crops, and that the government had allocated a
number of farmsto Chinese enterprises. The Financial Gazette and The Daily
Mirror (11/11)carried a story each showing that some resettled farmers had
also beenaffected by eviction. The Mirror, for instance, reported the
dilemma "newfarmers" were facing when it reported that about 100 farmers,
formerlyresettled at Hunyani Farm, were evicted and dumped at Montgomery
Farm, aprivate property in Mashonaland West.

While the farmers were
quoted by the paper complaining that their effortsto resettle at Montgomery
were being frustrated by its white farm owner, itcited Mashonaland Governor
Nelson Samkange exposing the arrogance andracial bigotry that has
characterised the reforms since their violentinception in 2000.

Said
Samkange: "Do you think the government is stupid to take those peopleto a
farm owned by someone? If we managed to remove Ian Smith from powerthen who
is this white farmer to stand in our way".

Central bank governor called for investigation into Zimbabwe board
finances

Cricinfo staff

November 18, 2005

The seriousness
of the dispute bedeviling Zimbabwe cricket became clearer with the news that
Gideon Gono, the central bank governor, had called for the investigation
into allegations of irregular foreign currency dealings at Zimbabwe Cricket
(ZC).

Gono took the decision to launch the probe after serious
allegations were made against Peter Chingoka, the ZC chairman, and Ozias
Bvute, the managing director. The pair were called in last week to answer
questions while the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's Financial Intelligence,
Inspectorate and Evaluation Unit raided ZC offices last Thursday and
searched for cash and documnetation.

Chingoka looked to play down
reports that he and Bvute were being investigated, telling reporters that
they were cooperating with the RBZ investigators. "We have had some very
constructive meetings with RBZ officials," he said. "ZC will continue to
cooperate fully with the RBZ officials as they guide us in ensuring
compliance with their requirements."

Bvute confirmed their
discussions with the RBZ unit centred on the allegations raised by the
provincial chairmen in a dossier submitted to the central bank. "We've not
been arrested," he claimed. "We held a meeting to clarify issues and get
guidance from the exchange control authorities."

"It is not our
practice as a central bank to disclose whether interactions with ZC are of a
consultative, investigative or of a social nature," an RBZ spokesman told
the Zimbabwe Independent. "However, we wish to advise that apart from the
supervision and surveillance of banks, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has an
arm that looks into the economic behaviours of various
players."

The dossier contained a number of allegations, one
reportedly questioning whether Chingoka had switched the controversial
$75,000 honorarium he was granted last year to South Africa, and in doing so
had flouted Zimbabwe's strict exchange control regulations.

The
dossier also queried rumours that a female ZC employee had allegedly
disappeared with US$75 000. That money was paid by a sponsor directly to a
bank account in South Africa, although it appears that the board were duped
by the employee rather than being party to the
transaction.

Chingoka dismissed the allegations as "financial
mudslinging (that) appears to be the final strategy in the anti-ZC
destabilisation campaign". He added that he was ready for an audit. Despite
the bullish comments - the first in more than a week which has seen the
board's two senior officials come under intense pressure - the indications
are that this will not go away. Police officials spoken to by Cricinfo have
said that the investigations are continuing but that no statements at all
will be issued until more is known.

Farmers forced out so the lions can roam free

In the floodplain of the
Olifants river, green shoots of maize grow as if by a miracle amid an arid
expanse of bush.

These precious fields, watered all the year round,
make the people of Macavene village in Mozambique dependent on no one but
themselves.

Yet thanks to the creation of one of Africa's biggest game
parks, they will soon have to abandon the floodplain for new homes in a dry
region. Here, if drought strikes, they will need western food
aid.

Macavene and seven other villages find themselves inside the new
Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. For the first time in generations, Africa
is expanding the area of wilderness roamed by elephant, lion and
buffalo.

The steady encroachment of human beings on the habitat of
wildlife is, for once, being thrown into reverse.

This vast
conservation area, due for an official opening next year, will span three
countries and cover 14,000 square miles - almost twice the size of
Wales.

By removing all boundary fences, South Africa's Kruger National
Park will merge with a new reserve in neighbouring Mozambique and with
Gonarezhou Park in Zimbabwe.

Today, 6,000 Mozambicans live inside the
park. All will be uprooted, turning over land they have tilled for
generations to herds of wildlife. They have agreed to move and compensation
will be paid. But they are quietly resentful.

"Our wish of course is
to stay here. This is our land, we know this place, we were born here," said
Julio Mongue, who has lived in Macavene for all of his 59
years.

Every day, Mr Mongue and his wife, Salmina, tend their fields in
the floodplain, helped by their six daughters and four sons. In a dry
region, they can feed themselves even if the rains fail. "These fields are
the most important treasure here," said Mr Mongue.

"But in the place
where we are going to move, we will need the rain. In the years of drought,
we will suffer."

Whenever the rains fail, millions of Mozambicans are
kept alive by the World Food Programme. Their dependence on handouts is a
key barrier to the country's development. The Limpopo Park may only make
this worse.

Mozambique is already one of the world's poorest countries
and few areas have enough land or water to accept families resettled from
the park.

"We have been asked to move to the Chinhangane area," he said.
"But the owners of that land are refusing to accept us. They say there is no
room and no water for us.

"It's up to the park authorities to sort it
out."

But the clock is ticking. Mr Mongue and his family live barely 25
miles from the Kruger Park. All that stands between them and 2,000 lions,
1,000 leopards and 14,000 elephants is the Kruger's reinforced boundary
fence.

Once that is removed, game will overrun Mr Mongue's fields.
Already, elephants have ruined crops nearby. People in Macavene say leopards
killed two cows a fortnight ago. "The government values animals more than
us," said Enoque Cossa, 22. "If nothing is done for us, the foreign tourists
are going to benefit more than we will."